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Thursday, March 31, 2011

And when you visit her blog (after the interview) you'll find this greeting.

I am a wife, mother, writer, avid coffee drinker, and insomniac. I like to read, study the bible, cook, run, walk the dog, play tennis, ski, nap, and get up in the middle of the night for some quiet writing time while the rest of the house is asleep. I tend towards YA but have written some middle grade. Fantasy is my favorite, but I also write action adventure and mystery, and I almost always include romance in the mix, whatever the genre.

Isn't that awesome that she writes both YA and MG? I think so. I wouldn't even even know where to start with MG. And look at all the cool hobbies she has to keep her busy!

Let's get to the interview so we can learn more about her writing hobby :)

Susan, how long have you been writing?

All my life. I wrote my first book in 2nd grade for a school assignment. I've been writing seriously in hopes of publication for the past few years.

(Wow! A whole book in 2nd grade? That's amazing!)

So, what made you want to write?

It's just something I've always loved to do. I just love making stuff up, I guess. :)

Do you have any pet peeves while writing?

My annoying habit of checking email way too much.

(I'm guilty of the same thing.)

What are your favorite genres to write?

Fantasy. If it can't happen in real life, then I'm interested! And a few years ago I discovered a love of romance, so now all my books have an element of romance as well.

(I love fantasy too. And romance is a must! I'm convinced that it makes any story that much better.)

Quick, you only have five minutes to check one or two writing blogs, which ones would you go to?

I love these blogs because they're fun, they brighten my day, and I feel a conection with the people behind them. They feel like old friends, even though the only one I know in real life is Sharon.

Did you participate in Natalie Fischer's 500 follower's contest? If you didn't get to take part in the hilariousness, you can still get a kick out of the comments by reading the revised version of the story here!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Here's how to play. I'll post five numbers below. The first three are page numbers. The fourth is the line down and the fifth is the word in that line. Take the three words and write a sentence that describes the book you're currently reading. Please don't give away major spoilers.

Oh, and to make things better for those Kindle user's and their percentages, I'm only using the first hundred pages. So, instead of going to the page number, you'll go to that percentage in your book. Then you can go ahead with the line down and word in. I hope it works!

Confused yet? I'll go first.

The lucky page numbers (or percentages) today are: 90, 20, and 3.

Go down to line 6 and use the 3rd word in.

Here's mine, taken from Revisions & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell.

Once you've started the beginning of your novel, make sure you have a hook that will lead the reader on.

Sound like something you'd like to read? I've only done a quick skim through so far. With revision books, I like to find the parts that will help me the most at the time. So far, I like it.

So, what are you reading? Even if you don't want to play the game, I'd love to know which book has your attention.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

If you don't know her, today's your lucky day! I'm happy to say that I met Ciara through the Writer's Crusade. We got put in the same group and have been blogging friends ever since. You can find this picture of Ciara on her website along with this blurb from her 'about me' page.

I’m happily married to my husband, Chris. We have three amazing boys aged 4, 6, and 13. Life is never boring with three sons.

Wow! So involved. That's awesome. And a mother of three boys. She's a busy woman :)

So, Ciara, how long have you been writing?

I started seriously writing October of 2008, but I’ve been writing for fun since childhood.

And what made you want to write?

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to write. Yet, there was a defining moment in my life. My father almost died after a surgery. I remember sitting by his bedside feeling alone. No one at school understood what I was going through and how scared I was. I wanted to be brave for my mother, so I wrote what I was feeling into characters in a story. It was therapeutic. Once he was well enough to sit up in bed I realized he couldn’t do much but listen to stories or watch TV. That’s when I knew I wanted to entertain people. Yes, I had a short lived desire to be an actress, but that’s another story.

(Wow, what an awful experience. I'm sorry you had to go through that but I'm glad that it sprouted a new hobby. Way to think positive. Writing is a great therapy tool.)

If you could sit down and reread any book, which would it be?

The Outsiders or Harry Potter. The Outsiders because it was the first book I ever fell in love with. I cried while reading it. Harry Potter, because I think I’d notice something new every time.

Do you have any pet peeves while writing?

By biggest pet peeve would be people in quiet corners of book stores yapping loudly on their cell phone. Okay, seriously, I don’t want to know someone’s personal business, although sometimes these people make great characters.

(Agreed on both accounts. Obnoxious but lots of fun for the muse.)

If you only had five minutes to visit a few writing blogs, which ones would you choose?

If you don't know about the auction going on at Write Hope, you really are missing out. What better way to join the other writer's in the world to make a difference? Please stop by and at least see what it's all about :)

Also, a while back a fellow Crusader spotlighted me on her website. For the life of me, I couldn't find it at the time. But thanks to Susan Fields interview of the awesome crusader, J.C. Martin, I found the long lost website. Her shout out to me from February 25th can be found here, but for good measure please go to her website and read more than just that.

I also just got this awardfrom Brooke R Busse. Isn't it just lovely? Thanks Brooke.

Even better, it's not required for me to list a single pointless fact about myself. I know, a relief right? I just need to pay it forward to other bloggers. Okay, technically 15 other bloggers, but for some reason I have a hard time following the award rules.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Let's face it, if Katniss never volunteered to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games, the story would'v been totally different...and probably not as exciting.

What would Harry Potter's life been like if he'd decided not to go to Hogwart's?

What if Bella didn't move to Forks to live with her dad?

It all comes down to this. Major decisions lead to exciting adventures which then lead to great characters and an even greater story.

What decisions are your character's making? And maybe even more important is when are they making them?

Major character decisions need to come somewhere near the beginning of the story. If not, the reader will most likely get bored. Also, your MC needs to make the decision for themselves. Don't let other character's take that away from them. Every time someone else makes a decision for your MC, it can weaken them.

If, by chance, another character does make the decision, what choices does that give your MC? This is the only time other character's should make decisions...if it leads to worse choices and a better adventure.

Make your character take the hard road. Put them through the worst and then do it again.

No matter what they go through, though, make sure they can make it back out. Realistically. And make sure your MC leads the way. If they aren't leading, kill off those above them or at least make those above them fail miserably. Then the MC can choose to take charge.

Kind of sad, but that will make a great story!

Do you have any advice to add for making great character's through major decisions?

For those who are wondering about the twist in my flash fiction, the boy releases the fish to get his real body back. So technically, no, the fish doesn't become the man. The boy becomes the man, but he couldn't have done it without the fish...and he's been searching forever to find that fish. When the boy makes the bowl teeter and fall, he wears a sly grin because Gran isn't in the shop. And she's the only one who knows his secret.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

I've decided to postpone my Mixed-Up Monday post this week for two reasons: I'm not currently reading anything to mix-up and I really want to post my crusade challenge. I know, gasp, not reading anything? What can I say, the end of my WiP is in sight and I am determined to finish it by the end of this month. It will happen.

Michelle Merrill

I'm a wife to the best husband and a mother to the cutest kids. I absolutely love to watch old movies, eat anything sweet, and play my music way too loud. My newest novel SUMMONED (Granted #2) is now available on Amazon. Don't miss my other books: GRANTED, CHANGING FATE, and short story TRAPPED (Granted Prequel).

TRAPPED

Click to find on Amazon

GRANTED

Click to find on Amazon

SUMMONED

Click to find on Amazon

Changing Fate

Click image to find on Amazon!

Contact

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What do I write?

I love anything and everything about YA fiction. But wait! I'm also getting into more MG. So, between the two, that's what I write, read, write, and read some more. I write mostly urban fantasy, fantasy, contemporary, contemporary fantasy...you can see where this is going. One of my favorite things is to lose track of time while I write. If I'm caught up in the story, hopefully my reader's will be too!